ISLAMABAD: The National Highway Authority (NHA) on Saturday said that it would fully cooperate with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in investigating alleged irregularities in award of contracts for Peshawar- Karachi Motorway (PKM) project. According to a press release, NHA said that it would maintain complete cooperation to facilitate the inquiry. “The allegations of ‘irregularities’ are based on misunderstanding and disinformation. NHA has clarified them before and is ready to address the same again on any forum,” the statement said. “Being the custodian of over 12,000 km network of highways and motorways, NHA has always taken this responsibility as a trust reposed by the nation and endeavored to maintain highest standards of fairness and accountability in the discharge of its work. Projects worth over Rs 1,400 billion are currently under execution in all parts of the country whereby adherence to rules and transparency remain the very foundation of the unprecedented road development activity. As a matter of fact, reforms introduced in the procurement process during the last few years have led to savings of over Rs 300 billion to the national exchequer, a fact also acknowledged by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) in its audit report for year 2016-17,” it said. “All contracts were processed and awarded as per relevant rules and regulations with total transparency. NAB was also requested in writing to supervise the tendering and procurement procedure for the award of works for CPEC and other highway projects including Lahore-Abdulhakim, Multan-Sukkur and Thakot-Havelian Motorway, to ensure the desired standards of transparency,” the statement said. Published in Daily Times, February 4th 2018.